Guide
Provenance and Dating of Artifacts from the Biblical Period
Biblical Period
Artifacts help historians reconstruct the past, using layers of excavation to establish the chronology of the sites they excavate.
Restricted
The artifacts from the biblical period included in the Posen Library consist of objects from sites that were clearly Israelite during the period from which they came or of foreign objects (reliefs) that depict Israelites or shed light on their culture. We have generally limited our selections to objects that are sufficiently intact to show what they looked like originally. In a small number of cases, when no clear photograph is available, we show artists’ reconstructions. We have avoided objects with unclear provenance that could be modern fabrications.
The objects are dated by archaeological period and the century or year(s) within that period. For example, “Iron Age I, twelfth century BCE” means that the object is from Iron Age I (which covers 1200 to 980 BCE), from the first hundred years of that period. In most cases the dates are only approximate.
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Ancient Near Eastern Archaeological Periods
Scholars divide ancient Near Eastern history into archaeological periods.
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Well at Beersheba
Well at Beersheba. This well was in use during the ninth and eighth centuries BCE and again in the Persian and Hellenistic periods (6th–2ndcenturies BCE). It is found just outside the city gate. The…
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Four Room House Plan
“Four-room” house plan, Iron Age II. The typical Israelite dwelling was a rectangular or square house of between roughly 500 and 1,200 square feet (50–110 sq m). It is often called a “four-room” or…
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Palace Façade in Assyrian Relief
Palace façade in Assyrian relief, Khorsabad. This illustration is based on an Assyrian relief from the palace of Sargon II (reigned 722–705 BCE), Khorsabad. The relief shows pillars topped by volute…
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Ivory Relief of a Woman at a Window
Ivory relief of a woman at a window, Arslan Tash, Syria, ninth–eighth century BCE.
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Figurine of Male Deity
Figurine of Male Deity, Ugarit, Late Bronze Age, 1550 to 1200 BCE. Seven and a half inches tall (19 cm), this figurine probably once brandished a weapon in its raised hand. It is identifiable as a…
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Figurine of Female Deity
Figurine of female deity, Tel Batash, 14th century BCE. Similar plaque figurines of naked women, often with breasts and genitals emphasized or with pregnant bellies, were very common in the ancient…
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Figurine of Calf and Shrine
Figurine of calf and shrine, Ashkelon, 1600 to 1550 BCE. Some of the non-anthropomorphic figurines found at Israelite sites had religious significance, especially model shrines (such as the Model…
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Scarab-shaped Seal
Scarab-shaped seal, Achziv, Iron Age IIC (732/701–586 BCE). Seals were used as stamps to impress images and/or words onto clay objects. They were often perforated so they could be suspended from cords…
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Papyrus, Rolled and Sealed
Papyrus, rolled and sealed, Samaria, 4th century BCE. This legal document had multiple seals affixed to it, apparently from different individuals (see the translation of this document, Slave Sale)…
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Papyrus, Rolled, Folded, and Sealed
Papyrus, rolled, folded, and sealed, Elephantine, Egypt, 5th century BCE. See also Papyrus, Rolled and Sealed. The Elephantine papyri provide historical documentation about the members of a Jewish…
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Storage Jar with Lamalekh Stamp
Storage jar with lamelekh stamp, Lachish, late 8th century BCE. More than 2,500 large storage jars, with a capacity of 12 to 14 gallons each, have seal impressions on their handles with the word lamel…
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Balance Scale
Balance scale (reconstruction). Pans from Iron Age II (ca. 980-586 BCE). Balance scales were likely made mostly of wood. No complete example has survived, but they are depicted in ancient Near Eastern…
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Lion-shaped Weight
Lion-shaped weight, Arad, Iron Age II (ca. 980–586 BCE). A balance scale would use weights to measure goods. Weights were usually dome-shaped, but some were shaped like animals. This well-preserved…
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Musicians on Ritual Stand
Musicians on ritual stand, Ashdod, late 11th or early 10th century BCE. Music and dance played an important role in Israel and the ancient Near East in both daily life and special occasions such as…
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Bronze Bowl with Musicians
Bronze bowl with musicians, Cyprus, late 9th or early 8th century BCE. The engraved scene shows musicians and dancers. In this bronze bowl, five inches in diameter, three female musicians are playing…
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Ivory-inlaid Chair
Ivory-inlaid chair, Salamis, Cyprus, 8th or 7th century BCE. Among the most beautiful items surviving from Israel and neighboring countries are the ivory carvings used for decorating furniture, among…
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Ivory-inlaid Bed
Ivory-inlaid bed, Salamis, Cyprus, 8th or 7th century BCE. Among the most beautiful items surviving from Israel and neighboring countries are the ivory carvings used for decorating furniture, among…
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Inscribed Weights
Inscribed weights, late 8th or 7th century BCE. These weights, used on a balance scale, correspond, from lightest to heaviest, to (a) payim, (b) netsef, (c) one shekel, and (d) two shekels. (The…
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Dancing Musician
On this clay plaque from Dan, from the Late Bronze (Canaanite) period, a man is playing a lute while dancing. The position of the performer’s legs shows that he is doing a lively dance.
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Pillared House
This drawing and the following replica of a pillared house are composites of many excavated houses from the Iron Age, 1200 to 586 BCE; none has been discovered standing. The images show domestic…
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Ashlar Masonry Wall in Samaria Acropolis
The masonry in the royal palace of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, is considered the finest example of ashlar masonry from the Iron Age. The blocks are cut so well that they fit together…
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Crenellation from Ramat Rahel Palace
Several stone crenellations, like the one shown in this computer reconstruction, with each of the upper layers shorter and narrower than the one below, were found broken into pieces at the palace at…
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Volute Capital from Ramat Rahel Palace
The palm and the palmette are common iconographic elements in ancient Near Eastern art, appearing, for example, in ivory decoration (see Ivory and Bone Carvings and Engraved Seashells) and in Assyrian…
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Window Balustrade from Ramat Rahel Palace
Palm imagery is a common motif in decorative architectural elements like window balustrades. Each of the four columns in this partial restoration from the biblical period is six inches in diameter and…
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The Tabernacle
Shown here are two slightly different reconstructions of the Tabernacle based on the Bible’s descriptions; many details derive from educated guesses. The first shows the sanctuary compound with its…
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The Temple of Solomon
These two modern depictions of the Temple built by King Solomon on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem are based on biblical descriptions and pertinent archaeological evidence from other sanctuaries and…
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Arad Sanctuary
The Arad sanctuary today exists in ruins (image on left), and scholars have attempted its reconstruction (right). The sanctuary included a building with a broad hall approximately 35 feet (10.5 m)…
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Open-air Sanctuary in the Samaria Hills
This drawing is a modern reconstruction of the ground plan of an open-air sanctuary. Situated in northern Israel, it consisted of an enclosure about 65 feet (20 m) in diameter surrounded by stones…
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Model Shrine from Tirzah
This terra-cotta model of a shrine from Tirzah stands 8 inches (21 cm) tall. The façade has an entrance with a grooved threshold flanked by fluted pilasters, with inward-curling volute capitals topped…
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Model Shrine from Khirbet Keiyafa
This limestone model of a shrine, around 8 inches wide, 10 inches long, and 14 inches high (20 cm × 25 cm × 35 cm), was painted red. The façade features a triple-recessed door frame, above which is a…
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Tomb of Pharaoh’s Daughter
The cemetery in the village of Silwan, on the hill east of the City of David, included some aboveground tombs, cut out from the cliffs on three or four sides so that they look like buildings. These…
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St. Etienne Burial Caves
On the grounds of the St. Étienne monastery, north of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, were two elaborate burial caves that each included a large central hall surrounded by several rectangular rooms…
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Tombs from Ketef Hinnom Cemetery
A group of elaborate tombs was found on the slopes of Jerusalem’s Hinnom Valley, including a cluster at Ketef Hinnom behind what is now the Menachem Begin Center. This is an artist's reconstruction of…
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Burial Chamber from Ketef Hinnom Cemetery
Shown here is a reconstructed burial chamber from Ketef Hinnom, on exhibit at the Israel Museum. There are ledges along the side and back walls, with low parapets visible along two of the ledges. A…
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Double Burial Chamber in St. Étienne Cemetery
Steps at the rear of this burial chamber in the St. Étienne cemetery lead up to a second, inner one, with rock-cut, tub-shaped burial places, perhaps intended for important members of the families who…
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Hamsa-like Hand in Khirbet el-Kom (Makkedah) Tomb
This small hand, carved in stone with downward-pointing fingers, was probably apotropaic—that is, meant to protect the person buried in the tomb where it was found. It was carved on a wall between the…
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Plaque Figurine of Pregnant Woman
In this terra-cotta plaque figurine from Tell Beit Mirsim, 6 inches (15 cm) high, the pregnant woman’s arms cradle her belly and her navel and genitalia protrude. Incisions indicate the eyes, the hair…
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Female Plaque Figurine Holding Disk
There are numerous terra-cotta plaque figurines of females, some naked and others clothed, holding disks, mostly from northern Israel and Transjordan. Many come from border towns and towns whose…
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Judahite Pillar Figurine with Mold-made Head
Terra-cotta pillar figurines are found throughout the biblical territory of Judah and date to the eighth to seventh centuries BCE. Most were decorated with a white background layer and one or more…
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Judahite Pillar Figurine with Hand-made Head
In this terra-cotta figurine from Beersheba, 5.5 inches (14 cm) high, the face is made by pinching the clay to draw out the nose, thereby forming the eye sockets. The nose has a beak-like appearance…
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Figurine of a Young Bull
This bull figurine, 7 × 5 inches (17.5 cm × 12 cm), was cast in bronze with considerable detail. It combines highly realistic features—horns and ears, genitalia, legs and hooves—with more stylized…
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Horse Figurine
Numerous figurines of horses, sometimes including a rider, have been found. Most have traces of paint; it is likely that they were all originally painted. The paint sometimes depicts the horse’s…
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Horse and Rider Figurine
This terra-cotta figurine from Lachish is very schematic, and the rider’s legs are not shown. The rider cannot represent an average person because people—even kings—more often rode on donkeys and…
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Horse with Object on Head
Several horse figurines have objects on the forehead, like this one. The object may represent the horse’s forelock or mane, or perhaps a decorative ornament. This terra-cotta figurine from the City of…
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Bird Figurine with Pillar Base
This terra-cotta bird figurine from Lachish, about 4 inches (10 cm) high, has outspread wings indicating flight. Like the Judahite pillar figurines, its base is a solid pillar flaring outward at the…
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Bird Figurine
In this terra-cotta dove figurine from Beth Shemesh, 4 inches (10 cm) long, care was taken with the shape of the head and body and in showing the tail by painted lines. Yet there are no feet and the…
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Model Chair
Since chairs and beds were valuable items and not found in average homes (people usually sat on the floor and slept on mats), it is possible that terra-cotta models like this one from Lachish…
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Model Bed
Since chairs and beds were valuable items and not found in average homes (people usually sat on the floor and slept on mats), it is possible that terra-cotta models like this one from Lachish…
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Amulet Depicting Isis Holding Horus
This faience amulet from Lachish depicts the Egyptian goddess Isis sitting on a throne and holding her son, the god Horus, on her lap, a common artistic motif in Egyptian amulets. The legs are broken…
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Amulet in the Shape of the Demon Pazuzu
The Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, depicted here in a combination of human and animal features, was invoked to prevent the malicious actions of the demon Lamashtu, who was believed to endanger newborn…
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Amulet Depicting Bes
Amulets often took the form of Bes, a minor Egyptian deity, who was understood to guard mothers in childbirth and their babies. Bes is often shown with a feathered headdress and a grotesque face, a…
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Seals of Various Sizes, Shapes, and Colors
Collections of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem and the Israel Antiquities Authority. Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem by David Harris.
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Bullas from Jerusalem
The backs of many bullas, like those shown here from the City of David in Jerusalem, have impressions of the strings that once tied the rolled document and marks from the papyrus fibers of the…
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Seal of Elyashib Son of Ashyahu (or Ishyahu)
A double-line border surrounds the inscription on this seal, made of black paste or serpentine (a magnesium silicate), found at Arad. A central boss with flanking lotus buds separates the names…
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Seal of Uriyahu Son of Azaryahu
This seal, found in En Gedi, is made of brown mottled dolerite and decorated with lines and dots that surround and separate the names.
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Seal Impression with Petaled Rosette
The rosette, impressed on a jar handle here, may have been a royal insignia during the last decades of the Judean monarchy, around the late seventh century BCE. It was found at Ramat Rahel, an…
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Seal of Netanyahu Son of Yaush
Found in Jerusalem in the plaza of the Western Wall and possibly made of limestone, the top register of this seal contains a garland of four pomegranates, one of which was damaged when the seal was…
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Seal of Hamiohel Daughter of Menahem, with Fish
From Jerusalem, this seal is made of bone. The fish image, a motif known only from Hebrew seals, suggests plenty and fertility (cf. Genesis 48:16) and may also allude to the life-giving nature of…
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Seal of Yaazanyahu (Jaazaniah), Servant of the King, with Rooster
This agate seal with an image of a rooster was found in a Roman-period tomb at Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah), but its script dates it to the late seventh or early sixth century BCE. The bottom register…
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Seal Impression with Prancing Horse
This image, found at En Gedi, depicts a prancing or galloping horse with its head and right foreleg raised. The high level of skill shown in the realistic engraving makes it one of the finest seals…
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Seal of Shema, Servant of Jeroboam, with Lion
A large lion dominates this seal, appearing between the owner’s name (Shema) and his title (servant of Jeroboam). The lion’s jaws are open and its tail curves upward, making the animal appear larger…
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Bulla of Shebanyahu Son of Samak, with Grazing Doe
The top register of this bulla from Tel ‘Eton shows a grazing doe, carved deeply into the seal with a high degree of craftsmanship. Images of grazing or browsing horned animals were popular, appearing…
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Seal of Ḥaman (or Ḥiman), with Griffin and Locust
The upper register of this seal from Megiddo, made of black serpentine with white spots, has an image of a striding griffin wearing a kilt and an Egyptian double crown, with an Egyptian ankh symbol…
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Seal with Grazing Griffin
The griffin on this black stone seal found in Jerusalem has a bovine body. Its wings are held out and down.
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Lamelekh Seal Impression with Winged Sun Disk
Many of the seal impressions, with the inscription lamelekh “(Belonging, or pertaining) to the king,” followed by the name of a city, feature a two-winged figure, probably a winged sun disk…
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Lamelekh Seal Impression with Four-winged Scarab Beetle
Some lamelekh impressions, like this one from Lachish, have a four-winged scarab beetle as their central image. The scarab beetle was an important mythological symbol in Egypt, associated with Khepri…
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Seal with Four-winged Uraeus
This seal, found at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, shows a uraeus or upright cobra with four wings. Modeled on the black-necked cobra that applies its venom both by biting and spitting, it was…
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Seal of Shelomit, with Two Men Flanking an Altar
This black stone seal, from the City of David in Jerusalem, depicts two bearded men with their hands raised in a gesture of worship, flanking an altar or pedestal. The crescents on the altar or…
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Seal of Hagab, with Archer
This phosphorite seal, found in the plaza of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, portrays an archer with a bow prepared to shoot. The quality of the carving is very high. The depiction of the archer is…
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Seal with Archer
This stamp seal depicts an archer shooting at a fleeing quadruped, possibly an antelope. The action is difficult to make out. From the viewer’s perspective the archer is behind the animal while the…
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Seal Impression of a Male Figure Holding Two Caprids
Images of this type—with a male figure holding two caprids (probably ibexes) by the horns—are dubbed “master of the animals” and are seen throughout the ancient world. They often represent a female…
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Seal with Chariot and Riders
This seal from Tel Dan, made of red limestone, shows a driver and two other people in a horse-drawn Assyrian-style chariot. Chariot scenes, uncommon in Israel, are frequent in Assyrian and Egyptian…
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Ivory-inlay Piece in the Shape of a Palm Tree
This and the next several ivories come from the approximately twelve thousand ivory pieces and fragments that were found in the royal compound in the city of Samaria, capital of the Northern Kingdom…
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Ivory-inlay Piece with Repeating Palmettes
This piece from Samaria shows lotus shoots sprouting from the base of each palmette, with alternating open and closed blossoms. The repetition of the images is characteristic of the art of this period…
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Ivory-inlay Piece with Lotus Chain
The lotus image on this ivory from Samaria was originally an Egyptian symbol of the life-giving power of the god Ra—experienced through the fragrance of the flower—and of the afterlife.
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Ivory-inlay or Appliqué Piece Depicting a Rosette
Rosettes like the one on this piece from Samaria were common floral decorative motifs in ancient Near Eastern art.
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Crouching Ivory Lion Figurines
In the ancient Near East, images of paired lions served as guardians at building entrances and on furniture, where these two figurines from Samaria were presumably placed. According to 1 Kings 10:19…
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Ivory-openwork Panel with a Battle between a Wild Bull and a Lion
The battle between a wild bull and a lion, which are among the most powerful animals, is a common theme in ancient Near Eastern art. In this panel from Samaria, the lion’s claws are embedded in the…
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Ivory-openwork Panel with a Sphinx Striding through Lotus Flowers
Sphinxes are among the most ubiquitous images on Iron Age Levantine ivories. The sphinx combines the features of several animals; it has the head of a human, the wings of an eagle, and the body of a…
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Ivory-openwork Inlay with an Enthroned Figure
This ivory openwork inlay from Samaria depicts a figure enthroned on a cushioned chair, perhaps at a banquet, with an attendant standing behind. Royal banquet scenes, common in ancient Near Eastern…
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Ivory Relief of a Woman at a Window, Samaria
This ivory relief bears a common motif, found in ivories from Syria and nearby areas as well: a woman stares straight out from a window set in a triply recessed frame with a balustrade in front. Her…
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Ivory Cloisonné Relief with the Egyptian God Horus
This leaf-shaped ivory relief from Samaria depicts Horus as a child sitting on a lotus flower. The lotus was a symbol of regeneration, and because, in Egyptian belief, each pharaoh was considered an…
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Ivory Pomegranate Sculpture with a Bird Sitting on Top
This small sculpture of a pomegranate with a bird (most likely a dove) sitting on top is from the City of David in Jerusalem. The sculpture was probably mounted on a piece of furniture (fragments of…
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Ivory Stopper Shaped Like an Ibex Head
The stopper is perforated at the bottom so that liquids, probably perfumes, can be poured from the jar through the male ibex’s mouth. The horns curl tightly back to the neck, perhaps to prevent them…
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Ivory Spoon
This spoon from Hazor has a wide handle intricately incised on its front with a sequence of palmettes curving upward instead of the more common downward-turning volutes. The spoon’s use is unclear. It…
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Ivory or Bone Spoon
The image on the handle of this spoon from Beth Zur is of a person in a ceremonial pose with one arm raised. The lotus blossom on the left reinforces Egyptian iconographic connections. Part of the…
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Ivory Goat Inlay
In this ivory inlay, found in Jerusalem (Ophel), incised lines indicate the goat’s fur, especially around the neck, and deeper lines detail the legs. The goat’s feet are all very close together…
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Ivory Box with Ritual Scene
This ritual scene was carved twice on a cylindrical ivory box from Hazor, about 2.7 inches high and 2.2 inches in diameter (7 × 6 cm). A kneeling man raises his hands in prayer toward a stylized tree…
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Ivory Plaque with Sphinx and Palmettes
The top register of this plaque from Hazor depicts a crouching winged sphinx wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The lower register shows two stylized three-tiered palmettes. The…
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Bone Handle with Grazing Horned Animals
The primary register of this handle from Hazor shows two grazing caprids (perhaps deer or gazelles), a popular motif (see “Bulla of Shebanyahu Son of Samak, with Grazing Doe”). Beneath them is a…
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Bone Handle with Winged Humanoid
This handle from Hazor, perhaps once attached to a mirror, depicts a winged humanoid with extended wings, grasping the branches or fronds of a young palm tree with both hands. It measures…
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Engraved Clam Shell
Engraved tridacna (clam) shells like this one from Arad seem to have been used as cosmetic containers in the Near East and Mediterranean worlds in the late seventh and early sixth centuries BCE. This…
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Seashell with Geometric Patterns
This shell from Mizpah is incised with concentric circles with dots in the center. The circles on the outer ring are combined into a guilloche. There are two perforations at one end and three (not…
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Coin with Gorgon/Lion and Bovine
This is the earliest known Jewish coin. It may have been minted in Philistia for the province of Yehud, before Yehud began to mint its own coins. The front depicts the head of a gorgon, a Greek…
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Coin with Lily/Falcon
On the front is a lily, commonly found on Yehud coins. On the back is a bird that most ornithologists consider to be a falcon; there is no consensus on its symbolism. With wings spread, this falcon…
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Coin with Athena/Owl
This is a Judean imitation of a popular Athenian coin type. On the front is the head of Athena, distinguished by her helmet. On the back is an owl, the symbol of Athena. To the left of the owl is a…
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Coin with Owl and Inscription
On this coin, the owl has lost some of the distinctive features of the Athenian prototypes. Instead of the large prominent eyes, the face is relatively small, and the eyes are even smaller. The bird’s…
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Coin with Human-headed Lynx
The image on this coin is the front of a hybrid creature with the body of a winged feline (probably that of a lynx) and the head of a human. The head, crowned, has a beard and horns, representing a…
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Coin with Helmeted Deity/Deity on a Winged Wheel
This coin from Yehud, the Persian name for the province of Judah, is larger and heavier than others like it. The helmeted and bearded male on the front is a deity who is usually, though not…
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Coin with Shofar/Falcon
The front of this coin depicts an animal horn, probably a shofar (parallel lines across the horn suggest horns of rams and some other animals). If this is a shofar, it likely signifies praying to God…
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Coin with Ear
The image of an ear on this coin may symbolize God as the one who hears prayers, as in passages such as Psalm 34:16, 18, and Psalm 130:2. The image is paralleled on Egyptian stelas that depict…
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Arad Sanctuary Pillar
This photo shows a reconstruction of the cella, or inner sanctum, of the Arad sanctuary as it is thought to have appeared in its last phase. At the rear stands a 35-inch-tall (90 cm) pillar of…
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Altar of Hewn Sandstone (Ashlars) from Beersheba
This altar is approximately 3.5 feet (1.1 m) tall and 5 feet (1.5 m) square. The protrusions at its upper corners are reminiscent of the “horns” of the Tabernacle altar (see “The Tabernacle”)…
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Small Limestone Altar from Megiddo
This altar is 21 inches (55 cm) high. Its styling, its square shape, the central band and rim, the groove between them, and the well-defined horns are characteristic of altars from the Northern…
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Small Ceramic Altar from Hazor
This square altar from Hazor is 12 inches (30 cm) high. The offering surface is recessed, and the upper corners have horns that would have held the offering in place.
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Ceramic Offering Stands and Other Objects from Lachish
This group of ritual containers from Lachish, for incense or other types of offerings, includes ceramic stands, offering bowls, chalices, and a small stone altar found near them. The ceramic stand on…
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Ceramic Offering Stand from Ai
This stand is 26 inches (66 cm) high and open at the top and bottom. It has four rows of windows and five feet, with five toes each, protruding near the bottom (three of the feet are visible in the…
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Ceramic Offering Stand from Taanach
This 21-inch-high (54 cm) stand was made in the ajouré (open-spaced) style and finished to look like bronze. In the bottom register, a nude female with raised arms (a fertility goddess?) touches the…
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Ceramic Chalice from Arad
The chalice, covered with red slip (a thin mixture of red clay and water), consists of a tall, hollow stand and a separate bowl; both parts are decorated with downturned petals. Together they stand…
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Assemblage of Containers from Ketef Hinnom
About a thousand items that had accumulated over time were found in the repository of Cave 25 in the Ketef Hinnom cemetery. They included jewelry, ivory and bone inlays, arrowheads, tools, and a large…
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Inscribed Offering Pot
Though discovered in a private home in Beersheba, this 9.5-inch-high × 11.5-inch-wide (24 cm × 29.5 cm) pot, or its contents, was probably dedicated to the sanctuary. The inscription kodesh or kadosh…
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Inscribed Offering Bowl
This shallow bowl, 5.35 inches (13.6 cm) in diameter, was discovered on the bench at the foot of the sacrificial altar in the Arad sanctuary. It is inscribed with the letter kof followed by a kaf or s…
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Inscribed Limestone Basin
This basin from Kuntillet Ajrud is much too large to have been used for a practical purpose—it weighs more than 300 pounds (136 kg) and is large enough for two adults to sit in. The inscription…
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Alms Bowl
The inscription “your brother,” written on the inside of this bowl from Beth Shemesh, may indicate that the bowl was designated for receiving or collecting offerings (perhaps of food) for the poor…
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Seven-spouted Ceramic Oil Lamp
Its multiple (seven) spouts and pedestal make this lamp from the sanctuary area of Tel Dan unusual. Lamps like this could be as tall as 9 inches (23 cm) and as wide as 6.7 inches (17 cm) in diameter…
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Figures Looking over City Wall
These fragments of a mural from Kuntillet Ajrud show two human heads, facing left and looking out over their city’s wall, which is flanked by towers. The mural may have been part of a military scene…
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A Seated Man
In these fragments of a mural from Kuntillet Ajrud, only partially preserved, a seated male figure appears to be wearing a wide-collared yellow garment. A long sidelock is visible in front of his ear…
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Two Ibexes
In this detail from the left side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud, two ibexes are eating the flora of a schematic tree, all set above a striding lion. These common motifs are typically…
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Cow and Calf
This drawing of a cow and her calf appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The cow and calf are a common motif associated with fertility and protection. Kuntillet…
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Beses and Lyre Player
This detail appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The two Bes figures on the lower left are unrelated to the lyre player in the upper right. Bes was a minor…
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A Procession
In this detail from a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud, five people stand with raised forearms (their hands are not depicted). As raised hands usually signify praying, the scene may represent…
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The High Priest’s Garments
A detailed description of the priests’ sacral vestments in Exodus 28 provides written evidence of sacred dress and adornment, although neither archaeological evidence nor pictorial representations for…
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Seated Male Figure
This is a modern artist’s illustration of a painting of a seated male in profile, perhaps an enthroned dignitary. The painting was made on a potsherd from Ramat Rahel. It measures around 5 × 3 inches…
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People from Lachish Going into Exile
This section of the relief from the palace of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (reigned 705–681 BCE), in Nineveh depicting his conquest of Lachish in 701 BCE, shows Judahite inhabitants filing out of the…
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A Man from Lachish with His Sons
This detail appears in a relief from the palace of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (r. 705–681 BCE), in Nineveh depicting the Assyrian conquest of Lachish in 701 BCE. (For the full relief, see "Conquest…
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Men Doing Obeisance to Sennacherib
The six men from Lachish in this section of Sennacherib's palace relief are dressed quite differently from the men shown in other sections. They are clad in the simplest of short-sleeved, unbelted…
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Judahite Captives among the Builders of Sennacherib’s Palace
This relief from Sennacherib’s palace shows workers rebuilding Nineveh, harnessed by shoulder straps to ropes by which they haul a large bull colossus toward the palace. Workers from various places…
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Men on a Bulla of the Governor of the City
This bulla, found near the Western Wall in Jerusalem in the remains of a seventh–sixth-century BCE building, depicts two men facing each other, each raising one hand toward the other with the other…
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Linen with Colored Wool Decoration
Fragment of beige linen material with blue linear embellishment and added red wool, from Kuntillet Ajrud. The dyes are from vegetal sources, the blue from indigo and the red from alizarin. Textiles…
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Fringe or Tassel
This fringe from Kuntillet Ajrud, knotted from undyed linen threads, could be the fringe (tzitzit) that Israelites are commanded to wear on the corners of their garments, as indicated in Numbers 15:37…
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Silver Earrings
These silver earrings of solid lunates have fixed attachments and attachments of hollow granule clusters. They are from a tomb at Tel Ira in the northern Negev.
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Silver Signet Ring
Silver signet ring with image of galloping griffin, a hybrid creature that consists of feline body and legs, avian head and wings, and serpentine tail. Found in a burial cave in the Ketef Hinnom…
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Necklace of Beads
This necklace of beads is predominantly of orange glass but incorporates stone beads and gold spacers as well. The beads range in shape from bi-conical to cylindrical and also include larger…
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Toggle Pin
Toggle pins and fibulae were fasteners for garments, and because they were often decorated, they also functioned as jewelry. The toggle pin was a thick straight pin, ornamented on its upper part or…
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Fibula
The fibula, which replaced the toggle pin during the Iron Age, is similar to a modern safety pin. It had a main bent section with a clasp, which was often elaborately decorated, and a simple straight…
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Bronze Mirror
This mirror was found in the Moringa burial cave at En Gedi; its tang would have been fitted into a handle, now missing, made of metal, ivory, or bone (see Ivory and Bone Carvings and Engraved…
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Cosmetic Implements
These cosmetic implements from Gibeon include a limestone bowl decorated with small, incised circles and two bronze spatulas. Tweezers for plucking hairs have also been found.
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Cosmetic Bowl
This limestone cosmetic bowl from Megiddo has mosaic decoration around the rim. It consists of alternating circular and bud-shaped inlays of blue and brown glass. Some are now missing. The central…
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Goblet-shaped Cosmetic Container
This goblet-shaped cosmetic container of white limestone is from Hazor. The footed base, midsection with festoon pattern, and deep bowl with upper frieze of alternating checkerboard pattern form three…
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Bone Comb
This comb is from a Philistine site at Ekron, but combs looked the same throughout the region.
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Bone Flute
This flute from Tel Goren at En Gedi, 4 inches long and .67 inches wide (10 × 2 cm), is made from the hollowed shaft of an animal bone. The hole near the center was probably for blowing air across the…
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Double-pipe Player
On this ceramic double pipe from Tel Malhata, the musician uses one hand on each pipe to control pitch. Usually women played the double pipe, but in this case, it is a man. This double pipe is…
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Conch Trumpet
Large conch-type shells can be used to make music by blowing through closed lips into an opening cut at the narrow end of the shell. Because the spiral-shaped cavity of each shell is distinct, each…
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Lyre Player
This detail appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The seated figure plays a lyre held away from the body. There seem to be four strings, oriented vertically…
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Musicians in a Relief from Nineveh
Depicted in a relief from Sennacherib’s Palace in Nineveh, these musicians, followed by an Assyrian soldier, hold stringed instruments against their chests, plucking the strings as they walk. Dressed…
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Woman Playing Frame Drum
The drumhead of this Phoenician-style terra-cotta figurine from Shikmona (south of Haifa) is recessed, suggesting that the drum had only a single head. Figurines like this are typically found in…
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Cymbals
This pair of bronze cymbals from a Canaanite stratum in Megiddo has a bronze loop set into the center of each cymbal for a finger. The Bible often refers to Israelites using cymbals that undoubtedly…
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Rattles
These hollow, spool-shaped terra-cotta objects from Beth Shemesh would hold one or more pellets (often small pebbles) that when shaken would produce a sound. They have been considered babies’ toys…
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Dancers on a Seal from Abel Beth Maacah
Seals from numerous sites in ancient Israel and elsewhere in the Levant have schematic depictions of two or three people with hands linked or raised, reaching toward each other. All the members of the…